When the head of the Araneidae clan is found poisoned in her nest, her eldest daughter, Lourdes, becomes their clan’s new maven. If her clan is to survive, she has but one choice: she must marry before her nest is seized. All she needs is a warrior fierce enough to protect her city and safeguard her clansmen. Such a male is Rhys the Cold.

Born the youngest son of an impoverished maven, the only things Rhys has to his name are his sword and his mercenary reputation. His clan is starving, but their fondness for the flesh of fellow Araneaeans makes them unwelcome dinner guests. Torn between loyalty to his clan and fascination with his future bride, Rhys’s first taste of Lourdes threatens to melt the cold encasing his heart.

Amid the chaos of battle, Lourdes’s sister disappears and is feared captured. Lourdes and Rhys pursue their enemies into the southlands, where they discover an odd plague ravaging southern clans as it travels north, to Erania. Determined to survive, Lourdes will discover whether she’s worth her silk or if she’s spun the thread by which her clan will hang.

Warning: This book contains one mercenary hero with a biting fetish, one determined heroine who gets nibbled, and an answer to the age-old question, “What does dragon taste like?” Matricide and sibling rivalry are available upon request. The house special is revenge, best served cold.

What VampBard’s talking about:

A Hint of Frost, the newest title in Ms. Edward’s catalogue, begins the Aranea Nation series. Lots of great world-building going on in this title. If you’re into conspiracy theories, dragons, and alternate universe beings, this is a series you’ll want to get into from square one!

Spider people. Whoda thunk… I wasn’t even the slightest bit creeped out, either! When Lourdes, the new ‘Queen’ of Araneidae learns of the death of her parents, she snaps into action. She seems to be one of those people that’s able to compartmentalize and get done what needs doing. No matter what the cost is to herself. After all, she’s the leader of her people, and she needs to do whatever she can to keep her clan safe. Doesn’t matter if she’s happy or not. When the Araneidae people were betrayed by the clan that swore to protect them, Lourdes didn’t hesitate to align herself with another clan that would be able to keep her people safe. Lots of selfless acts. Little did Lourdes know, the man to which she was betrothed would worm his way into her heart from their first meeting.

Rhys, who has been promised by his mother to Lourdes in consideration for riches and armor, actually is a sweet guy. He’s very protective of Lourdes, and does not pressure her for any reason. It’s rather refreshing to read about a true gentleman that values his virtue as well as that of his lady. It was interesting to see his reactions as protector as intense as they were from the beginning of the story. The primal growling and biting was a bit erotic, and actually helped the reader see that the couple were becoming more and more entwined.

The rising action for A Hint of Frost appeared to be the search for Lourdes’ sister, thought to have left the stronghold of the familial home in an effort to hide her involvement in her parents’ death. Prior to the binding ceremony taking place toward the end of the story, her trial is held, and we don’t see her consequences for her actions actually unfold during this title. During the hunt for Lourdes’ sister, Rhys is injured and nearly dies. It is only because of the involvement of his home clan, and his cousin, that Rhys survives.

While we could see Lourdes and Rhys’ sexual tension building throughout the story, it felt like the ending was little more than wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am. The actual consummation of their union, while they had both been emotionally tied to the other, fell to the final scene in the story. (Those reading the e-book edition will note that the last 10% deals with the physical act and excerpts from other titles – and not just those by Ms. Edwards.) I was hoping that there would be more to the story.

Overall, A Hint of Frost is a great title to what promises to be a great series by Ms. Edwards. I look forward to seeing where the next title leads us.

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WELCOME to my blog! At That’s What I’m Talking About we discuss and review urban fantasy and all things romance, with some other fun topics tossed in. I hope you will stay and visit for a while!

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Jen Twimom

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About our reviews: The reviews posted here are the writer's own honest opinion of the book, not a judgement on the subject matter or author. We read for pleasure and at the request of authors and publishers. We do not receive compensation for our reviews, other than the copy of the book to read for the review. The source of the book is listed with each review. Please see our Disclosure Policy for more information.